Defence Equipment Development Agreements - An Opportunity for the English Speaking Common Law Courts?

Kyiv by Night

Author Roman Naumov  Licence CC BY-SA 4.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

My last post Demand for English Legal Services in the Gulf expressed anxiety over the long-term future of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states.  I observed:

"It goes without saying that the current hostilities in the region are bad for business, and the longer they continue, the more difficult it will be. Much will depend on the outcome."

Although there has been a ceasefire between the United States and its allies in the Gulf and Iran, the United States Navy's counter-blockade of Iranian shipping has arguably added to the difficulties of restoring normality to the region.

However, there has been at least one development which may stimulate demand for the services of the English-speaking common law courts in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and the lawyers who practise or would be eligible to practise in them.  President Zelenskyy's visits to the GCC states and the agreements that he has negotiated to develop and manufacture weapon systems based on Ukrainian technology are well-documented (see, for example, Sasha Vakulina What are Ukraine's new Gulf defence deals? Here is what Zelenskyy signed 30 March 2026 in Euronews and Jodesz Gavilan Ukraine Defense Firms See Surge in Foreign Partnership Offers 27 April 2026, The Defense Post).

The implementation of these international agreements will require weapons development agreements between defence contractors in Ukraine, the GCC countries and elsewhere.  Many, if not most, of those agreements will be in English, and they will all need to be construed and applied in accordance with an agreed system of law.  Since the laws which the DIFC, Abu Dhabi Global Markets and Qatar Financial Centre Courts are based on English law there is every reason to suppose that at least some of those parties will submit to the jurisdiction of one of those courts.  As Dubai has a Digital Economy Court which was presided over by fellow Mancunian, Michael Black KC, that would be my personal choice.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page at any time.

UK's New IP Attaché to the Middle East and North Africa

Author Nederlandse Leeuw Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

Jane Lambert

The UK has a new IP attaché for the Middle East and North Africa ("MENA") region.  Her name is Sanaz Javadi Farahzadi and she is interviewed in the latest issue of IP Overseas.  Ms Farahzadi succeeds Yamish Yakoob who was IP attaché to the Gulf Cooperation Council states between 2021 and earlier this year. Further information about Ms Farahzadi and her mission appears in the latest edition of the Attaché Contact Details guidance.

MENA is a large and diverse region stretching from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf. It includes some of the wealthiest states on the planet as well as some of the poorest. Wars are taking place in several parts of the region and the political complexion of the governments ranges from absolute monarchy to Ba'ath socialism.  

The countries of the region vary widely in their level of protection for intellectual assets.  Morocco and Tunisia have validation agreements with the European Patent Office.  Saudi Arabia is hosting the Design Law Treaty Diplomatic Conference.  The TRIPS agreement was signed in Marrakech.  On the other hand, Palestine offers much more limited IP protection as I stated in  IP Law in Palestine last year.

As I mentioned in Why is there no longer a British IP Attaché to the Gulf Co-operation Council? these chambers have invested heavily in the region.  We are all entitled to appear as advocates before the English language, common law, commercial courts in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai and several of us have appeared before those tribunals.  We also sit as or appear before arbitrators and mediators in all parts of the region.  We can also advise and represent clients from that region with interests in the United Kingdom,

Stephen Somerville, our first deputy senior clerk is currently in Dubai.  Should anyone in that Emirate wish to meet him his email address is ssomerville@4-5.co.uk.  Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me during UK office hours on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form,

IP Law in Palestine

 

Jane Lambert

Gaza and the West Bank of the River Jordan may not be in the Gulf but they are part of the Middle East North Africa region and those districts have plenty of links with the Gulf Cooperation Council states. Right now intellectual property is probably the last thing on the minds of the inhabitants of those areas but it is to be hoped that a time will come when the guns fall silent and their shattered economies can be reconstructed. Such reconstruction will require massive investment much of which could come from the GCC countries.  However, such investors will wish to see that their investments in branding, design, technology and creativity are protected adequately.

Finding information about the legal protection that is available in those territories is not easy because they are among the few parts of the world that are not yet party to the WIPO Convention.  That does not, however, mean that they have no interest in intellectual property.  When I visited the WIPO between 2 and 4 Sept 2019 to address the Advisory Committee on Enforcement I had the honour of sharing a table with the Palestinian observer to the proceedings (see Another Side of the WIPO 5 Sept 2019 NIPC News).  While chatting in the intermissions I learned that he was legally qualified and that he had actually been instructed in IP cases before entering public service.

As he did not seem to know any of the delegates whom I had been addressing I offered to introduce him.  We started with the British delegation which was staffed by Elizabeth Jones of the Intellectual Property Office and District Judge Hart of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court small claims track and had just moved on to the American delegation when the chairperson called the meeting to order and we had to return to our seats.

The only information that I have been able to find out about Palestinian IP law from the WIPO Lex web page is that it is party to 29 treaties none of which seems to relate to IP and that the link to its national intellectual property office leads to An-Najah National University.  Another page on the WIPO website states:

"The term patent protection is four years as from the filing date, renewable for additional three periods of four years each. Palestine is not part of the TRIPS Agreement; therefore it is not obliged to have a minimum 20 year protection term."

I have, however, found a thesis by Ihab G. Samaan entitled A Historical View of Intellectual Property Rights in the Palestinian Territories which states on page 63 that:

"there are a number of laws protecting intellectual property rights. These are inherited from the British Mandate and the period of Jordanian rule in the West Bank. The Patents and Designs Ordinance No. 33 of 1924 and the Trademarks Ordinance No. 35 of 1938 are in force in the Gaza Strip, while the Patents for Inventions and Industrial Designs Law No. 22 of 1953 and the Trademarks Law No. 33 of 1953 are in force in the West Bank. The Copyright Act of 1911, as incorporated in Palestine and amended by the Copyright Ordinance No. 16 of 1924, is in force in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

This seems to be consistent with information published by law firms with offices in the area.  The reason for the differences between the laws in Gaza and those in the West Bank appears to be that Gaza was administered by Egypt between 1948 and 1967 and the West Bank by Jordan during those years.

If and when I find out more about the laws of those territories I shall publish them here.   In the meantime, anybody who wants to discuss the topic can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK business hours or send me a message through my contact page,  

IPO Guidance on the Gulf Cooperation Council

 

Jane Lambert

On 6 April 2023 the UK Intellectual Property Office ("the IPO") circulated an email headed "Are you a UK business trading in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? Or thinking of doing so?" to its mailing list, The email announced that the IPO had published guidance to help businesses navigate the IP regimes in each of the six GCC member states providing information on the main IP rights and where to go for further guidance,  It added that the GCC was the UK's 7th largest export market worth £33.1 billion in 2021, that the UK has a longstanding relationship with the GCC, particularly in areas like technology, life sciences, creative industries, financial services and education, and that intellectual property will play a vital role in securing British ambitions in the region.

International IP Service

A button on the email connects to a web page on the British government's website headed Collection International IP Service with the strapline "Protecting your trade marks, patents, designs and copyright abroad" which was first published on 20 Aug 2021 and last updated on 10 March 2023.  It begins with a general observation:

"Intellectual property rights are territorial. You should consider getting IP protection if you want to trade overseas or sell to overseas customers via the internet. Start by developing an international strategy, identifying your markets, business goals and resources."

 I would endorse that advice adding only that an international strategy is an aspect of an IP strategy which is something that every business should develop whether an individual on his or her first day in business or a mighty multinational  (see What is an Intellectual Property Strategy? 19 May 2017 last updated 8 April 2023).  I could help with that as I have many years experience of advising on IP strategy and have written many articles on the topic.

Top Tip

I would also endorse the IPO's "Top Tip":

"Know before you go. Wherever you want to do business, it is important that you understand the steps you should take to protect your IP before entering the market. It is a lot easier to jump over any hurdles before realising it might be too late to act. You will also need to do some research to make sure you’re not infringing someone else’s IP."

Meet the Experts: Yamesh Yaqoob

The next link introduces our IP attachés which are listed on a separate Attaché contact details page.  Our main in the GCC countries is Mr Yamish Yaqoob whose appointment I reported in UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC on 27 Oct 2021.  The section on Mr Yaqoob states:

"Focus on the GCC: Yamish provides guidance to UK stakeholders in the GCC region on how to effectively protect and manage their IP assets. He also works closely with regional IPOs and official authorities on outreach and awareness raising of the value of IP. Yamish will input on IP in a Free Trade Agreement with the GCC, to further build bilateral cooperation within the GCC on IP practice and policy. Currently, he is also working in close collaboration with the Saudi IP authority on delivering a joint work plan aimed at improving the local IP ecosystem."

IP Country Guides

The International IP Service page links to a list of IP Country Guides.  These include guides on:

• Bahrain 
• Kuwait 
• Oman 
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia and 
• the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"). 

Each of those guides was published on 2 March 2023 and follows a similar format.  There are passages on trade marks, patents, designs, copyright, enforcement and sources of further information.

The guidance on the UAE fails to mention the English speaking common law jurisdictions in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Dubai International Financial Centre free zones.  I have discussed the DIFC courts extensively in this publication and I introduced the Abu Dhabi Global Market legal system in Abu Dhabi Global Market - Yet Another Common Law Enclave in the Gulf on 22 Feb 2016.  It is worth remembering that the DIFC has its own intellectual property legislation which I mentioned in Introduction to, and Overview of, the New DIFC Intellectual Property Law on 13 Dec 2019.  The DIFC courts have always had jurisdiction to hear and determine breach of confidence and passing off and there seems to be no reason in principle why they should not grant injunctions, delivery up of infringing matter and pecuniary relief for infringements of the DIFC Intellectual Property Law.  Having said that, the Law establishes an Intellectual Property Commissioner with extensive powers to resolve IP disputes.

There is a similar English speaking common law jurisdiction at the Qatar Financial Centre known as the  Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre which I discussed in Qatar Financial Centre: Civil and Commercial Court Regulations on 28 June 2011 and subsequent articles.  The IPO guidance on Qatar does not mention that court or legal system.

Any member of the Bar of England and Wales in good standing can quickly be granted rights of audience in any of those courts.  The procedural law and practice of all three courts are modelled on the English Civil Procedure Rules.  Much of the substantive law is also modelled on British statutes or codifications of English case law. Some of the litigation is conducted online which means that members of the English bar can represent parties from their chambers in London or even their homes elsewhere in the UK. 

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact page.

Science and Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia

Jane Lambert

 

Earlier today I wrote about Yamish Yakoob's appointment as the first British intellectual property attaché to the Gulf Cooperation Council or "GCC" (see UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC 27 April 2021).  I posted Mr Yakoob's contact details at the British embassy in Riyadh but forgot to check whether our embassy has a website and I have discovered that it does (British embassy website).   It also has some information about a lot of useful services in Saudi Arabia and the GCC which merit this postscript.

Science & Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia

The Science and Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia is part of a wider network of approximately 110 officers in over 40 countries and territories around the world who are building partnerships and collaborations in science and innovation.  According to the network's website, it has 3 officers covering all 6 GCC countries. The head of the network in the GCC, who is referred to curiously as "the Head of SIN (Gulf)", is based in Doha.  The officials in Saudi Arabia are based at the British embassy in Riyadh.

The Network's Objectives in Saudi Arabia

According to the network's website, its officials in Saudi Arabia are working on the following objectives

"Establishing the UK as Saudi Arabia’s pivotal partner of choice in science and innovation.

Supporting the Saudi Arabia in enhancing their resilience and security by addressing long-term threats, including emerging health issues and global challenges on water and food security, as well as through building their capacity to deliver evidence-based policies.

Increasing trade and investment cooperation in education, healthcare, infrastructure, water, clean energy, cyber security, Science and Innovation – working on higher education, collaborating with the British Council and the Gulf Science and Innovation, Knowledge and Economy programme.

Broadening security cooperation between the UK and Saudi Arabia – keeping Britain, and our interests, safe.

Strengthening bilateral relationship through engagement on science and innovation.

Helping Saudi Arabia to deliver commitments made at COP 22.

Helping Saudi Arabia with Vision 2030 and achieving economic diversification.

Engaging with the next generation of thinkers.

Helping Saudi Arabia to deliver on G20 commitments."

Priorities

The website states that the officials in Saudi Arabia are focusing on the following priorities:

"Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Genomics and Precision Medicine.

Food Security

Cyber and ICT

Clean and Renewable Energy

Future/SMART Cities"

Possible Overlap

The reference to "SMART Cities" reminds me of the work on SMART Towns carried out by the Enterprise Hub (Yr Hwb Menter) at the Menai Science Park in North Wales. There may be scope for fruitful collaboration between Welsh and Saudi collaborators in that field.   

Snapshot

The network has produced the following snapshot of its work in Saudi Arabia.

Further Information

I have summarized the links in the following table:

British Embassy in Saudi Arabia	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-riyadh
UK Science & Innovation Network In Saudi Arabia	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/uk-science-innovation-network-in-kingdom-of-saudi-arabia
UK Science & Innovation Network Country Snapshot	https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/910663/Saudi_Arabia_Snapshot-2020.pdf
British embassy Facebook page	https://www.facebook.com/ukinsaudiarabia
UK Science & Innovation Network Twitter stream	https://twitter.com/uksinet?lang=en-gb

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK business hours or send me a message at any time through my contact form.

UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC

Author Furfur Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

Jane Lambert

The British government has signalled the importance of the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") as a trading and investment partner by appointing Yamish Yakoob as its first Intellectual Property Attaché to the bloc (see the IPO's Case Study IP Attaché: Yamish Yakoob, Gulf Cooperation Council 7 Oct 2021 IPO website). Yakoob's appointment increases the number of IP attachés to 7.  The others are in North America, South-East Asia, China, Brazil, India and Geneva (see Guidance Attaché contact details 7 Oct 2021 IPO website).

I first learnt about the work of our attachés when I chaired meetings for Tom Duke and Monica Su at the studios of Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre in Leeds and the Business Village in Barnsley on 19 Sept 2018 (see Meet our IP Attaché to China 21 July 2017 IP Yorkshire). At those meetings, our representatives met business leaders and IP practitioners from the Leeds and Sheffield city regions.  

Yakoob was educated at the International Indian School and Asan Memorial College from where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics.  He has spent the greater part of his career in the consular service as a trade and investment advisor between 2004 and 2018 at the British Consulate-General. Since 2018 he has served in the diplomatic service as Senior Trade Advisor - Creative (Culture, Sport and Tourism) at our embassy in Riyadh. He speaks Arabic, Hindi, Malayalam. Tamil and Urdu as well as English.

He can be contacted at the British embassy in Riyadh at 

Abdullah Alsahmi Street,
Near Circle 10,
As Safarat
Al Safarat,
Riyadh
12513,
Saudi Arabia.
Tel: +966 (0)11 481 9100 and
Email Yamish.Yakoob@fcdo.gov.uk

I congratulate Yamish Yakoob on his appointment and wish him every success.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal business hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Postscript

In view of the worldwide interest in this post, I have added a short postscript on the work of the UK's Science & Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia and other GCC states with some useful links. Mr Yakoob is likely to be closely involved in the Network's activities.

The New DIFC Intellectual Property Law - Patents and Utility Certificates

Jane Lambert

On 21 Nov 2019, a new Intellectual Property Law came into force in the Dubai International Financial Centre ("DIFC") which I discussed in my Introduction to, and Overview of, the New DIFC Intellectual Property Law on 11 Dec 2019.   The rights protected by the new law include patents and utility certificates.  A "utility certificate" is defined in the table to paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 of the new law as  "a right pursuant to the issuance of the deed of protection granted for an invention by Ministry where such inventions do not involve an inventive step sufficient for the grant of deed of patent."  Art 3 (3) of the DIFC IP law makes clear that it does not establish any registry for IP rights but any IP rights that are registered in the UAE under applicable federal IP Laws shall be recognized as valid and enforceable under this legislation in the DIFC.

Federal IP Laws

The DIFC is established in the Emirate of Dubai. Dubai is part of a federation of emirates known as the United Arab Emirates ("UAE").  The UAE is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") which has established a GCC Patent Office.   Patents for the UAE may be granted by the Federal Ministry of Economy under Federal Law No. (31) For The Year 2006 pertaining to the Industrial Regulation and Protection of Patents, Industrial Drawings, and Designs ("Law 31 of 2006") or the GCC Patent Office under the Patent Regulation of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ("GCC Patent Regulation").  As there is as yet no such thing as a GCC utility model, utility certificates for the UAE are available only from the Ministry of Economy under Law 31 of 2006.

Entitlement

Unless the invention is made by an employee, the rights to an invention shall belong to the inventor or his or her successor pursuant to art 13 (1) of the DIFC IP law.

If an invention is made within the scope of employment by an employee pursuant to an employment contract the employer will be the owner of the invention by virtue of s.12 (1) of the law unless agreed otherwise between the employer and employee in writing. An invention is deemed to have been made within the scope of employment if:
(a) the invention was made in the course of the normal duties of the employee, or in the course of duties falling outside the employee’s normal duties, but specifically assigned to the employee, and the circumstances, in either case, were such that an invention might reasonably be expected to result from the carrying out such duties (art 12 (2) (a)); or
(b) the invention was made in the course of the duties of the employee and, at the time of making the Invention, because of the nature of his duties and the particular responsibilities arising from the nature of his duties he had an obligation to further the interests of the employer (ar 12 (2) (b)).

Art 12 (3) further provides that unless otherwise agreed upon between the relevant parties in writing, if an invention falls outside an employee’s scope of employment but relates to an employer’s business or professional domain and has been conceived by the employee using primarily the employer’s resources such as know-how, documents, tools, premises and other facilities of the employer, the invention shall belong to the employer,. 

Employees' Duty to Notify

An employee must notify an employer of an invention as soon as practicable by way of a written report including all the technical details of the invention (art 12 (4)). 

Employees' Compensation

An employee to whom art 12 (3) applies shall be entitled to fair compensation in which his or her remuneration, the economic value of the invention and the benefits that the employer shall gain through the Invention shall be taken into consideration.

If the employer is not interested in using the invention that it is so notified of, it may in its sole discretion, assign all right, title and interest in the invention to the employee instead of paying the employee compensation for the invention if required under art 12 (3),.

 If an employer does not make an election of its interest in an invention that it was notified of pursuant to art 12 (4) through a written notice to the employee before the end of the employee’s employment contract, the employer is deemed to have made an election to keep the invention and either party may apply to the Court to determine the compensation due to the employee for the Invention unless otherwise agreed between the parties.

Monopoly

Art 8 provides that a patent or utility certificate shall confer on its owner the following exclusive right to exclude others from exploiting the Invention in the DIFC. Where the invention is a product, such exploitation shall include using, manufacturing, offering for sale, selling or importing the product.  Where the invention is a process or method, the owner shall enjoy the exclusive right to use the product or method including the exclusive right to market and distribute any product derived directly from such process or method.   Such owners will be assisted by art 11 (1) which provides that where the subject-matter of a patent is a process for manufacturing a product and the owner of the patent can show that a substantial likelihood exists that a product is manufactured by an infringer by such process but is unable through reasonable efforts to determine if such process was actually used in the manufacturing of the product, the burden of proving that the product is not manufactured by the process that is the subject of the patent shall move to the alleged infringer of the patent or utility certificate in any infringement proceedings in the DIFC

Infringement

Art 9 provides that those exclusive rights are infringed by the following acts if done in respect of at least one of the claims of a patent or utility certificate without the authority of the owner:

"(a) exploiting in or from the DIFC, for industrial or commercial purposes, an Invention protected by a patent or utility Certificate;
(b) using, manufacturing, selling, offering for sale in or from the DIFC, or importing into the DIFC, or possessing in the DIFC, with the intention to trade, products or processes protected by a patent or utility certificate, or products obtained using processes protected by a patent or utility certificate;
(c) inducing another person to infringe a patent or utility certificate in or from the DIFC, even if the inducer is located outside the DIFC; or
(d) cooperating with another party to an act of infringement of a patent or utility certificate in or from the DIFC, even if the other party is located outside the DIFC."

Art 9 (3) introduces a doctrine of equivalents into DIFC law:

"A claim granted under a Patent or Utility Certificate is considered to be infringed even though the alleged infringing product, process or method does not fall within the literal scope of the patent claim but nonetheless equivalent to the claimed invention. The construction of the claim is made in light of the entire specifications and drawings of the Patent or Utility Certificate involved."

Defences

Art 8 (2) provides that the rights referred to in art 8 (1) shall be restricted to acts that are undertaken for industrial or commercial purposes.  They shall not include acts relating to a product protected by a patent or utility certificate after its sale.  The last provision seems to introduce something akin to the US first sale doctrine into DIFC patent law.  The precise limit of this exception is likely to be the subject of litigation.

Art 10 (1) provides:

"A person has the right to exploit an Invention, product, process or method, which otherwise would constitute an infringement in the DIFC under Article 9, if in good faith, the person initiated an act of exploitation, or has made effective and serious preparations to initiate an act of exploitation before to the priority date of a Patent or Utility Certificate within the UAE."

However, that defence is limited because art 10 (2) adds:

"A person’s right to continue with an act of exploitation in the DIFC under Article 10(1) shall remain until:

(a) any products produced or acquired by that person inside the UAE prior to the grant of the relevant Patent or Utility Certificate, are sold, or otherwise exhausted; or
(b) until any machine used prior to the grant of the relevant Patent or Utility Certificate to execute any such patented process is expired,

provided that such right is a personal right and cannot be assigned or transferred to another person."

Anyone accused of infringing a patent or utility certificate can contend that the instrument is invalid but the person alleging invalidity is required by art 10 (4) to bear the burden of proof in respect of such invalidity. The court shall have the discretion to suspend the infringement proceedings until an order in respect of the validity of the patent or utility model is pronounced by the competent court.

Further Information

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or the DIFC intellectual property law generally may call me during normal British office hours on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact page.

Qatar at the WIPO

Standard YouTube Video


Jane Lambert

Yesterday, I attended the WIPO Conference "As the UDRP turns 20: looking back, looking ahead" on domain name disputes at the Organization's head office in Geneva. Next to our meeting, there was an exhibition about Qatar and some kind of reception.  As I have written quite a lot about Qatar and the Qatar Financial Centre with its own legal system based on English law, in particular, I toured the stands.

Qatar has been in the news a lot lately for good things such as the recent IAAF World Athletics Championships last month and the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well as more troubling things like the ongoing dispute with its neighbours which I mentioned briefly in How will the Blockade of Qatar affect IP Law in the GCC Countries? on 7 June 2017.  An official on one of the stands agreed that the breakdown of regional cooperation was a concern but he points out that it had not stopped Qatar from investing heavily in upgrading its already impressive infrastructure.

I asked specifically about patents and whether Gulf Cooperation Council patents still had force in Qatar and whether the inventions of Qatari inventors were protected in other GCC states.  The official could not answer my question beyond saying that Qatar does not apply for a large number of patents.  The table of European patent applications by country between 2009 and 2018 on the European Patent Office's website suggests that he may well be right. However, he pointed out that his country has robust copyright laws and he handed me a short leaflet entitled "We Protect Your Right" published by the Ministry for Industry and Commerce with some basic information on copyright registration.  I was also handed a copy of a gallery guide to the National Museum of Dohar 

That leaflet on copyright registration appeared to be the only literature in English on intellectual property at the exhibition but there is a statistical country profile on Qatar on the WIPO website.  It would appear from WIPO's country profile that Qatar is party to the Paris, Berne and other international agreements and has comprehensive intellectual property laws.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or Qatari IP law generally should contact me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during British office hours or message me through my contact page,

Spam

This morning I received comments to two of my articles which began with the words:

"I am a private loan lender which have all take to be a genuine lender i give out the best loan to my client at a very convenient rate" (sic).

In each case the comment was accompanied by an application form for a loan.  Not only does that sentence offend English grammar it also offends me. This blog is intended to be a source of information and commentary on the intellectual property laws of the GCC countries and not a billboard for services of various kinds.

The company that enables me to publish this blog allows me to scrutinize each and every comment before it appears and gives me the choice of publishing the comment, deleting it or marking it as spam.  I marked the two loan application comments as spam and they will never appear on this blog as long as it subsists.

Sometimes an advertisement is disguised in elaborate flattery for the article or publication with a hypertext link to the service provider. I wasn't born yesterday and I am quite astute to that approach too. Such comments are also marked as spam.

The only commentary that I shall allow are those that relate to the subject matter of the article.

 

After the oil runs dry - protecting inventions from GCC countries overseas

Beam pump in the West Kern Oil Museum in Tait, California, USA

Photo Konrad Summers

Creative Commons Licence

Source Wikipedia

Over the last few years the governments of the Gulf states have invested heavily in education and research to diversify their economies and lessen their dependence on oil and gas.  Saudi Arabia founded what is now the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in 1977. Dubai established its International Academic City in 2007. The Qatar Foundation has set up Education City in Doha. Such investment appears to have led to good academic research but there have not yet been many applications for patents. Of the 205,268 applications for patents through the Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT") in 2013, Saudi Arabia accounted for 187, the United Arab Emirates 57, Oman 3 and Bahrain 2 (see page 41 of WIPO Facts and Figures 2014 ). As for applications to the Gulf Co-operation Council ("GCC") and national patent offices, there were 2,991 to the GCC 1,426 to the United Arab Emirates, 931 to Saudi Arabia, 332 to Qatar and 170 to Bahrain.

Patents are important because they confer a monopoly of a new invention. Art 28 (1) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS") requires member states of the World Trade Organization to provide that:

"A patent shall confer on its owner the following exclusive rights:
(a) where the subject matter of a patent is a product, to prevent third parties not having the owner’s consent from the acts of: making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for these purposes that product;
(b) where the subject matter of a patent is a process, to prevent third parties not having the owner’s consent from the act of using the process, and from the acts of: using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for these purposes at least the product obtained directly by that process."

Such monopolies are granted to stimulate research and development.  By restricting the exploitation of a new invention to patent owners, inventors and their investors have an opportunity to recoup their expenditure and perhaps earn a little extra.

In order to maximize a new invention patents should be sought not just for the country in which the invention was invented but also for the countries where the invention or its products are likely to be sold and those in which they could be manufactured.  Two international agreements facilitate patenting of new inventions:

• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 20 March, 1883 to which all the GCC states are party, and
• The Patent Co-operation Treaty to which all GCC states except Kuwait are party.

Art 4 of Paris gives applicants for patents up to 12 months priority from the date upon which they make their first application. The PCT facilitates simultaneous applications for patents in a number of countries from a single filing.

The first step for an inventor is to apply for a patent for his or her own country.  Before taking that step the inventor will probably wish to satisfy himself or herself that there is a market for the invention, that he or she can secure investment for it and similar matters. He or she may well be asked for particulars of the invention. if the inventor agrees to such a request he or she should make such disclosure only in confidence. The law of the Dubai International Financial Centre recognizes a duty of confidence (see DIFC Law of Confidence 27 Jan 2011). Inventors who wish to take advantage of such law should make sure that their confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements require the confidante to submit to the courts of the DIFC and provide for the agreement to be construed and enforced in accordance with DIFC law. We can advise you on the law of confidence of the DIFC and draft such agreements for you.

PCT applications proceed in two phases: 

• an international phase where searches and examinations are carried out for novelty, inventiveness and utility on behalf of all parties to the PCT; and 
• a national phase where individual offices determine whether an application complies with their national law. 

The reason for those two phases is that the basic requirements of patentability such as novelty, inventiveness and utility are shared by all countries but there are important differences from state to state in other requirements. For instance, art 52 (2) (c) of the European Patent Convention excludes programs for computers from the definition of "invention".  However, that paragraph is subject to art 52 (3) which provides:

"Paragraph 2 shall exclude the patentability of the subject-matter or activities referred to therein only to the extent to which a European patent application or European patent relates to such subject-matter or activities as such."

That provision has been incorporated into the laws of each of the parties to the Convention including the UK. Art 52 (2) (c) and (3) and their corresponding provisions in national law have been considered many times by the courts of the contracting states and the Boards of Appeal (internal tribunals) of the EPO over the years. It appears that an invention  can be patented even if it is implemented by a computer program so long as it is something more than a program. Thus, a patent can be granted for a digitally controlled machine tool even if it consists of a known components so long as the tool is novel, inventive and useful but not for the program that actuates the processor that controls the tool.

Because of such considerations, applications for patents should be drawn up by attorneys with experience of the PCT. Attorneys from firms with offices outside the GCC may offer an advantage in that regard and there are several UK firms with offices in the Gulf. We should be glad to effect introductions to such firms if so requested. The same firms will can offer sure footed support to GCC inventors in national and regional patent offices during the national phase.  Occasionally disputes over patentabiluty arise that have to be resolved in the Boards of Appeal or other courts and tribunals. We can represent GCC inventors in hearings before EPO Boards of Appeal, hearing officers representing the Comptroller in the UK Intellectual Property Office and the courts of England and Wales.

Patent enforcement can be expensive particularly in common law jurisdictions such as the UK. We advise GCC inventors to consider taking out IP insurance from the time they file their applications. We can introduce inventors to specialist brokers if need be.  Disputes over whether a patent has been infringed are resolved by the courts of the country in which the infringement takes place. If a GCC inventor's patent has been infringed in the UK we can offer advice and representation in the Patents Court and the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court of England and Wales. A number of European countries including the UK have agreed to establish a Unified Patent Court to resolve disputes over unitary and other European patents (see the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court of 19 Feb 2013). When that court opens we can advise and represent inventors before that court also. For further advice on our services see Jane Lambert IP Services from Barristers 6 April 2013 4 to 5 IP.

Should anyone wish to discuss this article or patent law or the law of confidence on general, he or she should call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Reem Al Marzouqi - an Emirati inventor

Jane Lambert

I an grateful to Mr Mohamed Al Hemairy, Head of Intellectual Property & Patent Commercialization at the United Arab Emirates University, for bringing Aamera Jiwaji's article Patent Experience 23 Dec 2014 BQ to my attention.  It is about a young woman called Reem Al Marzouqi who has invented means of driving a car without hands. 

According to the article:

"More than a year has passed since a shy Emirati student and her two colleagues of UAE University made international headlines for inventing a system that allows a disabled person to drive a vehicle using only their feet. But little has happened in the last three years, despite her university’s best efforts to facilitate the process, spotlighting whether the GCC is truly ready to become a regional hub for innovation and intellectual property matters."

The University saw the potential of Reem's invention and allocated two mechanical engineering students and their supervisor to assist her. Applications have been filed for patents in the USA, European Patent Office, China and Japan though apparently not the Gulf Co-operation Council Parent Office.

Those patent applications must have cost a lot of money and their maintenance and enforcement will cost a great deal more. The work that has been carried out by the mechanical engineering students and supervisor will also have come at a cost though they will all have gained valuable product development experience. Unless and until a manufacturer or user applies for a licence to work Reem's invention there is a risk that this investment will not be recovered.

Yet even if that happens it is no reason to doubt the GCC states' capacity to become "a regional hub for innovation and intellectual property matters." The fact that Reem came up with the idea in the first place indicates that there are talented young men and women in the region. The University's willingness to invest in the invention is also to the region's credit. Reem's experience is one that has been shared by countless private inventors throughout the world including the UK and USA. I can say that from bitter experience because I have set up and chaired inventors clubs in Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, run IP clinics throughout the UK and spent most of my career advising and representing start-ups and other small and medium enterprises.

Reem's problem is that she is an independent inventor and not a member of a major vehicle manufacturer or other big institution's research and development department. If you look at page 9 of the UK Intellectual Property Office's publication Facts and Figures you will notice names like IBM, HP, Schlumberger and Rolls Royce in the table of top 10 patentees. The patent system in most countries (if not every country of the world) is designed to assist big businesses. It is very tough indeed for anyone else to get a look in. The remark attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door" is simply not true. And to be fair to Emerson what he actually said was:

"If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods."

Having said that it was not necessary a bad thing to apply for a patent or other intellectual property right for a useful invention like Reem's but applying for a patent for an invention and then licensing it is putting the cart before the horse.

Intellectual property exists to protect investment in branding, design, technology and works of art and literature but does not necessarily stimulate it. What stimulates such investment is the promise of a return through the use or sale of an invention, the publication of a blockbuster novel and so on.  When I am asked to advise a new business on patenting or other IP protection I take the entrepreneur through the following exercise:

• Identify the revenue streams for your business over the period of your business plan;
• Consider the threats to each of those revenue streams;
• What counter-measures can you take to avert those threats.

In most cases the threats are commercial - a competing product, a technical advance or changing consumer spending - and in most instances so are the countermeasure - reducing your prices, developing new products or services or finding new markets. Only very rarely is obtaining legal protection (that is to say a patent or other intellectual property right) the main answer. Even then a patent may not be the best answer because there are other forms of legal protection for new products and services such as the law of confidence which protects trade secrets or in the UK unregistered design right. Such alternatives are often unregistered rights and therefore free.

So what should Reem do now that she or her University has spent a lot of money on developing and patenting her invention? The obvious thing is to find a market and that is most likely to be found in a highly developed country with its own motor manufacturing industry with high welfare spending for disabled persons. I have no idea whether there is a market here but I do know that there is a scheme to adapt motor vehicles for disabled persons called Motability in the UK. There are probably bigger and better schemes in other countries. If I were Reem I would be exploring all those possibilities and perhaps also talking to the motor manufacturers.

Perhaps Reem, Mr Al Hemairy or someone else at the UAEU has thought of all that and done all these things. If so, excuse my impertinence. But if not, it's an idea isn't it and this article may help other inventors  in the GCC. If any of those inventors or entrepreneurs wants to discuss this article he or she can call me on +44 20 7404 5252 during office hours (remembering that we have 3 public holidays between now and 2 Jan 2015) or send me a message through my contact form. 

I should like to wish Reem, her helpers and university all the best and urge them not to be discouraged. There's plenty of scope for enterprise and innovation in the GCC states. The rest of the world owes a great debt of gratitude to the Arab world for the work of its scholars and scientists in the past. The fact that we use 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 rather than I, II, III, IV and V for counting is a constant reminder of that debt. There is no reason why the GCC - indeed the whole Middle East North Africa region - could not be a great source of ideas and technology again.

GCC-British Economic Forum

Landmark Hotel, London

Photo Wikipedia

Last Thursday I attended several of the sessions of the GCC-British Economic Forum organized by the Arab British Chamber of Commerce at the Landmark Hotel. The Forum was opened by Prince Andrew and there were keynote speeches from Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") and Prince Saud Bin Khalid Al-Faisal, Deputy Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). For the rest of the day there were discussions on energy, investment in infrastructure, financial services and tax.

I found the first session on sustainable energy was the most interesting. For the last 100 years the world has looked to the Gulf for petroleum products but the oil stocks will not last for ever. One of the businesses planning for when the oil runs out is QSTec (Qatar Solar Technologies). QSTec, which is part of the Qatar Foundation,

"aims to be a fully integrated solar energy company that operates across the solar value chain. Starting with the production of high quality polysilicon, QSTec will expand along the value chain into ingots, wafers, cells modules and applications. Its high quality solar products and services will be used locally and exported globally to meet the growing needs of the global solar industry."

The company was one of the sponsors of the Forum and Dr. Khalid K. Al-Hajri, its chair and CEO spoke at the dinner. Every guest received a goody bag from QSTec consisting of a solar powered battery charger and a bound notebook.

QSTec is developing new solar technologies in Doha in collaboration with the universities that are clustered in Education City and the businesses in Qatar Science and Technology Park. The company is already exporting its products around the world In time, it will no doubt build up an impressive portfolio of licensable technologies. Intellectual property will be crucial to businesses like QCTec not just in Qatar but also in the rest of the Gulf, yet it was barely touched upon in any of the discussions.

The good thing about the Forum was that discussion focussed on Arab investment in the UK as well as British investment in the GCC but the emphasis on energy, infrastructure, banking and tax seemed backward looking rather than forward thinking. Education City is not the only centre for research and development in the region. Saudi Arabia has the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (see my article "Saudi Arabia: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology" 6 Sept 2014), Dubai has its Knowledge Village and so on. We in the UK and indeed the rest of the world will want to use and develop this technology. This should certainly be a topic for any future Forum.

Another topic upon which I had expected more discussion was the political and legal infrastructure. The only time it came up was when one of the speakers remarked that investment was happened by political and legal uncertainty. In the Q & A I pointed out that Dubai and Qatar had both established English speaking common law courts in their financial districts in order to give foreigners sufficient confidence to use the local financial services industries and that there was no reason why investors in other industries could not opt for QFC or DIFC law and submit to the jurisdiction of those courts in their contracts. It should not have been left to a speaker from the floor to bring these important institutions to the Forum's notice.

Overall it was an interesting day and I met a lot of interesting people from the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East North Africa region. I hope that there will be another Forum but that it will be more forward thinking next time. Should anyone wish to discuss this article or business with the GCC generally he or she should call me on +44 20 74 04 52 52 or use my contact form.

Information in English on Saudi Patent Law

Because of the massive and rapidly increasing importance of Asia to the world economy the European Patent Office offers a range of Asian patent information services some of which are chargeable and others of which are free. Among the free services are virtual helpdesks on a number of countries including Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi virtual helpdesk consists of a series of FAQs.  Visitors who fail to find a solution to their problems among the FAQs are invited to complete an enquiry form. Those who want more specific answers to an FAQ are invited to email the International Legal Affairs team at the EPO.  Before reading the FAQs it is perhaps worth reading my articles:  "Patents: Gulf Co-operation Council" 23 Jan 2011 and "Saudi Arabia: Overview of Intellectual Property Law" 22 May 2011.  It will be recalled that patents can be granted either for Saudi Arabia alone by the Saudi Patent Office which is in the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology or for all the Gulf Co-operation Council states including Saudi Arabia by the GCC Patent Office. The EPO helpdesk provides information on patents granted by the Saudi Patent Office.

The EPO's FAQs are quire comprehensive. Here are some of the bits of information that I learned from the FAQs:-

"Computer programs as such are not patentable, but may be protected by copyright. Computer-related inventions may be patentable in Saudi Arabia if the requirements for patentability are met."

"All non-residents wishing to apply for a patent require an authorised Saudi Arabian representative. Applicants have to file a power of attorney which has been duly notarised and legalised by the consulate of Saudi Arabia."

"It is not possible at present to file a provisional application in order to get an early filing date in Saudi Arabia."

"It is not possible to submit third-party observations."

"The Saudi Arabian Patent Law does not include any provisions on patent term extensions or supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).

"Within 90 days from publication of the decision to grant, any interested party may apply for partial or total revocation of the patent.

Invalidation is possible for a third party at any time after grant and must be raised before a separate governmental body (Appeals Committee)."

The Saudi Patent Office also publishes FAQs on intellectual property, patents, industrial designs, plant varieties and integrated circuits and statistics on patents, designs and plant varieties.

Should anybody wish to discuss this article or any other topic he or she can contact me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal business hours or send me a message through my contact form. He or she can also send me a tweet, write on my wall or contact me through G+, Linkedin or Xing.

Intellectual Property and its Role in Economic Development, Kuwait 30-31 March 2014

On the 30 and 31 March 2014 a conference and exhibition on Intellectual Property and its Role in Economic Development at the Kuwait Marriott. The event was organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Kuwait in collaboration with the University and the Gulf Co-operation Council.

The event's objective was

"to activate the community partnership between the official bodies concerned with intellectual property and private sector business represented by the owners of the trademarks authorized in the local market and regional and international experts concerned with the implementation of IPRs laws highlighting the importance of providing adequate protection to the production and services companies, as well as safeguarding human health, safety and environment from the damages resulting from trading in counterfeited goods and their impacts on countries' economies."

The organizers set out to achieve those objectives by

• promoting avenues for activating the role of the intellectual property in economic development;
• encouraging and motivating inventors and individuals with creative thoughts;
• highlighting the official efforts exerted by the State of Kuwait in enacting IP regulatory laws and legislations and implementation thereof;
• highlighting the damages caused by counterfeited trade marks and raising consumers' awareness of such damages;
• exchanging expertise and experiences of the GCC States, the other Arab countries and international organizations.

Four topics were discussed:

• counterfeit trade marks, their damage to the national economy and how to combat and control them;
• the economic and industrial importance of patents;
• Kuwait's national IP legislation; and
• the role of chambers of commerce and other private sector organizations in suppressing counterfeiting.

Speakers included the Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce and Industry, the GCC Secretary General, the Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade and Intellectual Property Affairs in Kuwait, the Dean of the Law Faculty of Kuwait University and the Chair of the Intellectual Property Training Centre.

Gulf Co-operation Council Patent Office Statistics

I mentioned the Gulf Co-operation Council Patent Office in Patents: Gulf Co-operation Council on 21 Jan 2011. The Office has now published its statistics on its website:
Number of Applications     22,018
Granted patents                 1,454
Non-valid applications         6,199
Applications in progress    13,719
Fir further information call me on +44 161 850 0080 or fill in my contact form. He or she can also contact me through Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter..